Nonsense

Protection from poison

These would actually be very helpful as diagnostic/PPE tools in the hospital - or maybe as a first responder?

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Autumn Vibe Or as we Californians call it: fire season

and there is no such thing as winter

both mini monsteras (monstera adansonii and raphidophora tetrasperma) are fabulous. mine grow like weeds

honestly their daddy is pretty robust too (monstera deliciosa)

pothos (epipremnum aureum). your mileage may vary on this one because i do inevitably murder them but they are supposed to be easy and they tend to droop when they need watering (helpful visual reminder). they come in a lot of fun varieties

heart leaf philodendron is really similar to a pothos but ime harder to kill

fittonia (nerve plant) is colorful and also tends to dramatically flop to the ground when it's been underwatered (but recovers quickly once you remember to water it). honestly i routinely forget about my mostly-fittonia barbie dream terrarium and it's thriving

ponytail palms. i toss mine outside in the spring/summer and after that it's happy for the rest of the year. cat friendly i think

syngoniums come in a crazy number of varieties in all kinds of colors and sizes, they're low light, and they're not fussy. this is the other resident of the barbie dream terrarium that i forget about all the time

aglaonemas are maybe a little higher maintenance than the others, but they're pretty and they can hang in there for quite a while. i had one for years that was very happy in my cubicle with no window

snake plants (sansevierias) are basically plastic plants but alive. i was shocked recently to learn that one of mine had grown babies because they basically do nothing (and need nothing) most of the time

ZZ plants are probably the ultimate ADHD plant. i forgot one in my antique booth for six months with no sunlight and never watered it and it's still happy as a clam. they come in a cute little mini variety called zenzi and a goth variety too

tbh i would consider most of these plants relatively low light plants! variegated varieties (the ones with lighter and darker patches) will struggle more but yeah. snake plants and ZZ plants would be my top picks for you probably

you might also want to look into grow lights! some of them are pretty cute and they can come with automatic timers

none of the plants on this list are super dangerous to cats (like lilies or sago palms – i would never bring those into a house with cats)

that being said, these three are completely non-toxic per the ASPCA Poison Control:

Spider Plant

FIttonia

Ponytail Palm

the rest of the plants may cause nausea/vomiting/diarrhea (snake plants specifically) or oral irritation/difficulty swallowing/vomiting (the rest of them).

i've kept all of these plants in a home with a cat, but not one who's very determined to eat plants. so it might be worth starting with those three and seeing how it goes

a couple of other cat-friendly, easy-to-care-for plants that didn't make the list for no real reason:

Peperomia obtusifolia (baby rubber plant)

Pilea peperomioides

i've kept both and an confirm they're pretty hardy. my Pilea is one of my longest standing plants at this point despite some hardcore neglect

"In Sacramento, California, an estimated 6,615 people are experiencing homelessness, a number that — while still heartbreakingly high — has declined 29% since 2023, according to the latest Point In Time counts. 

But a new project, which has been in the works since 2022, might bring that number down even lower.

A new 13-acre property purchased by Sacramento County will soon be home to the Watt Service Center and Safe Stay. 

The county broke ground on the mixed-use service center this week, which will provide shelter, emergency respite, safe parking, health services, and more to community members who are unsheltered — meaning they don’t have a place to safely sleep at night.

“We wanted to do something that is not only larger, but a large-scale campus to provide more than just the shelter,” Janna Haynes, of the county’s Department of Homeless Services and Housing, told KCRA3 News.

The Watt Service Center will have amenities to help meet the needs of anyone staying there, including bathrooms, showers, laundry, and food, as well as mental health, treatment, and employment services.

“You can also meet with your case manager, get behavior health services, look for a job, get rehousing services, a place for your dog,” Jaynes added. “It’s really everything you need, not only for your day-to-day life, but to hopefully end your homelessness.”

While the center is a costly offering, the city explained that it is ultimately less expensive than allowing the homelessness crisis to go unmitigated.

The land was purchased for $22 million and will cost an estimated $42 million to construct the center. According to ABC10 News it will be mostly funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.

While the center will have the capacity to host 225 beds in Safe Stay cabins, 50-person capacity in Safe Parking, and 75-person capacity for emergency/weather respite beds, it will serve countless others outside of the 350 total people it can house at any given time.

According to a press release from the county, “conservative estimates” have found that over the course of 15 years, the center will serve 18,000 people.

In 2017, the city found that the average cost for an “unsheltered individual” was about $45,000 a year, considering public systems like county jail, shelters, behavioral health, and more.

With the projected impact of the shelter, that cost lowers to less than $3,600 per person.

“If you break down the funding, it’s actually not that expensive,” Rich Desmond, county supervisor for District 3, told ABC10.

“It’s a heck of a lot cheaper than letting someone stay out in the community, unsheltered where they are extremely expensive in terms of the emergency response from fire, our emergency rooms, our law enforcement response.”

Providing what the county calls “wraparound services” not only brings down costs but truly helps people meet their basic needs.

“The really great thing about this site in particular, that we don't have at any other shelters, is the sheer size and the ability to really wrap everything people need,” Emily Halcon, director of the Department of Homeless Services and Housing with Sacramento County, told ABC10. 

One notable feature is the center’s Safe Parking spaces, which are the first of their kind in the city. People living in their cars will now have a safe place to park, monitored by security.

“We know a lot of people who are unsheltered actually are living out of their cars,” Desmond said, “maybe a family that’s barely hanging on but they still need that vital transportation to get their kids to school or get to work.”

This support is especially helpful for those who are newly homeless, Halcon added, building on the amenities provided in the county’s two other “safe stay” facilities. 

While Sacramento County just broke ground on the Watt Service Center, officials say they hope to begin moving people into the facility in January 2026.

“Our staff is putting in extra time and attention to this campus, ensuring that it houses everything we need to end homelessness for people,” Desmond said in a statement.

Once it’s up and running, Jaynes told KCRA3, they plan to onboard formerly unhoused community members as part of the staff at the facility.

“When you have a conversation with someone who understands where you’ve been, and you see the success they’re having now,” Jaynes said, “it really does give you hope something could be different.”